Monday, February 28, 2011

The dates of theClassical Periodin Western music are generally accepted as being between about 1750 and 1830. However, the termclassical musicis used colloquially to describe a variety of Western musical styles from the ninth century to the present, and especially from the sixteenth or seventeenth to the nineteenth. This article is about the specific period from 1750 to 1830.

The Classical period falls between theBaroqueand theRomanticperiods. The best knowncomposers from this period areJoseph Haydn,Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,Ludwig van Beethoven, andFranz Schubert; other notable names includeLuigi Boccherini,Muzio Clementi,Antonio Soler,Antonio Salieri, François Joseph Gossec,Johann Stamitz,Carl Friedrich Abel,Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Johann Christian, andChristoph Willibald Gluck. It's a bit of an irony that two of J.S. Bach's children, Carl Philipp Emanuel (C.P.E.) a Johann Christian (J.C.), belonged among the leaders of the new Classical movement. Their father was the greatest figure in the Baroque style and thanks to the new era of his children, he became old-fashioned.

Main Characteristics

Classical music has a lighter, clearer texture thanBaroquemusic and is less complex. It is mainlyhomophonic— music where the melody and accompaniment are clearly distinct - was the main style during the classical era; new genres were discovered that completed the transformation from the Baroque era to the Classical (butcounterpointis by no means forgotten, especially later in the period).

Variety and contrast within a piece became more pronounced than before. Variety of keys, melodies, rhythms and dynamics (usingcrescendo,diminuendoandsforzando), along with frequent changes of mood and timbre were more commonplace in the Classical period than they had been in the Baroque. Melodies tended to be shorter than those of Baroque music, with clear-cut phrases and clearly markedcadences.

TheOrchestraincreased in size and range; the harpsichordcontinuo fell out of use, and thewoodwindbecame a self-contained section. As a solo instrument, theharpsichordwas replaced by thepiano(orfortepiano). Early piano music was light in texture, often withAlberti bassaccompaniment, but it later became richer, more sonorous and more powerful.

Importance was given to instrumental music — the main kinds weresonata, trio,string quartet,symphony,concerto,serenadeand divertimento.Sonata form developed and became the most important form. It was used to build up the first movement of the most large-scale works, but also other movements and single pieces (such asovertures).

One of the most important "evolutionary steps" made in the Classical period was the development of public concerts. Although the aristocracy would still play a significant sponsoring role in musical life, it was now possible for composers to survive without being the permanent employee of some noble or his family. It also meant that concerts weren't limited to the salons and celebrations of aristocratic palaces. The increasing popularity of public concerts led to a growth in the popularity of the orchestra as well, to the enlargement in the number of musicians and the number of orchestras overall. Although chamber music was still performed, the expansion of orchestral concerts necessitated large public spaces. As a result of all these processes, symphonic music (including opera and oratoria) became more extroverted in character.